her first time at sea
by isisthewolf
Summary: a girl moves to alaska to find new thrills and start her life over she meets adversity and finds that life is just the same, just more dangerous and you have to be tougher in Alaska
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: yeah some of the people (OK maybe most) are real people so obviously i do not own them but Mariah and Stanley and as far as i know the _Golden Crest_ are original characters of my making. if you have any questions please go ahead and ask, i don't bite...hard

"Chapter 1" a little Elbow Room/ new acquaintances

She walked into the Elbow Room with everything she had in life except her young daughter. This was no place for a two year old and she had known that before she had even made up her mind to make this trip up here but she needed a job and some quick money and after watching the documentaries she thought she would try her hand at life up here for a while. She knew that being a single mother would be hard, especially since she needed to give Sophi the life that she had only dreamed of when she herself was a child and wasn't all that long ago. A quick glance around the room and a few smoke choked coughs later she was used to the dim lighting and the din of drunken cussing and boasting. Many fishermen's tales and tips met her ears and she smiled as comfortable here as at a family new year's party back home. Home, how she missed it, how she missed Sophi.

"I'll have a Budweiser please" she said to the bartender as she dropped her bag at the feet of an open bar stool and sat down. The bartender handed it to her a moment later "thanks" she mumbled and began to sip at her drink. With each sip she relaxed a little more after her long flight up here. Just as she finished up the last of her beer she heard a young man's voice behind her. "Can't you handle anything stronger than that?" with a smirk she turned around "Only if you're buying" the young fisherman smiled "Pick your poison" he said daringly. She nodded her head sending a cascade of chocolate colored hair from her black cowboy hat and looked into the stranger's eyes. "ill take a captain" she said putting down her empty bottle. He looked around looking disappointed with his eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?" she asked "Oh nuthin' just looking fer a captain fer ya, you see I'm only a greenhorn" he pointed to a rowdy table almost enveloped in smoke "ya want a captain, yer best bets ta head over there ta prospect yerself one. I gotta warn ya though the youngest one may be single but he aint what he seems to be he just plain greedy and trigger happy and the others are either old or married or both."

She laughed a sweet laugh accompanied with a small snort that caused more than one head to turn in her direction, it even warranted a momentary lapse in joviality over at the captains' table. "I meant captain Morgan smart ass" she hit the man softly on the arm and he shook his head slowly "well then I am really sorry I can't help you, he never came up this way, and to top off he is dead for years now, yer a bit late" she held back the urge to hit him again "I meant the Rum smart one" and rolled her eyes. "Oh I see" he nodded and ordered the drink for her. "Your accent, you are from California aren't you?" he asked. She looked up at him, "yeah I am" she nodded "where are you from?" he replied after shrugging his shoulders "im from everywhere, there is probably only a handful of states I have lived and worked in, I don't like to be tied down to a piece of soil too long" they took their shots and kept talking into the night, until the bartender yelled out for last call. "Well I better get going, I have to look for a job in the morn…in a few hours" she corrected herself after looking at her cell phone and sighing, "what time does this place open up tomorrow?" she asked him "it opens bright and early so we could get some breakfast, what do you like?" "Are you serious?" she asked then continued on "I like waffles and coffee." She got up and walked out before he could even say goodbye.

--

Once outside she took a deep breath of the clean air to try and clear out her lungs of all of that smoke when a man called her over. She looked around to see if anyone else was around, knowing full well not to go near a drunken man alone but she took a step closer anyway. "You called me over, what for, wait aren't you Andy Hillstrand?" Her attitude changed completely once she saw his familiar face and she walked up to him. "you want to watch out for that one you were talking to in there lady, you obviously don't know much about this place, he's a snake born and raised and I don't mean the biting kind, hes a constrictor." She wanted to trust Andy because of how he was portrayed in the show but after talking to the other man for so long she felt like she had made a friend, he wasn't looking for more she was sure of it. "I don't know Hillstrand, he seems alright to me, I've consorted with worse in my time, oh yeah I'm Mariah" she added almost as an afterthought. "We'll miss Mariah, what exactly does your time imply, twelve years?" At that one of the men he had been talking to all night turned around and her jaw dropped "Both of you are here?" Johnathan looked blankly at her, clearly drunk "na there is only one a me here," and he nodded to Andy "he's my brother, not me" she laughed at this, he was just as adorable in person as he was on the show especially when he was drunk. "Actually Hillstrand" she addressed Andy as she had gotten used to back in her JROTC days "eighteen years and a handful of months and every day of those years was spent learning men in orange county, men are defiantly a cruel creature" "well see here, we are not all cruel, us men" john said looking once again at her. She couldn't help but smile again and blush. "I gotta get going I have to get up early and find a job" as she went to turn to leave john spoke again, more clearly this time "I thought you looked new" "John weren't you listening, she just said she was new" Andy said, turning to his brother and hitting him upside the head. "What was that for?" John said as he rubbed his head where Andy had hit him. She just laughed and waved as she walked away towards her hotel.

"Chapter 2": surprise visit

It was the sunlight that woke her, or was it a knock at her door. No she was sure the knock was just in her dream, this was a small town but surly no one had already gotten to know her enough to find out where she was staying. That knock at the door again, this was definitely not her dream. She threw her robe on, even with the Alaskan cold she just wasn't comfortable sleeping clothed, probably not too smart in a motel. "I'm coming, just don't expect me to be nice I haven't had my coffee yet" she yelled to whomever was calling this early in the morning, looking at her watch she saw that it was only three and she had gone to bed sometime past midnight. "It's ok I brought you some, as a peace offering for waking you at this hour, not everyone is a crabber with a crabbers hours I should know that by now." said a smooth young voice through the door. She smiled inwardly when he spoke because she remembered him from the show as well. It was strange to her that complete strangers would already try to make friends with her but hey the more the merrier. She opened the door trying to hide a smile and look disgruntled but one look at Josh Harris' smile made her laugh. "Well are you going to invite me in or what?" he said as he walked in anyway. "Sure why not" she rolled her eyes "where is my peace offering?" she said grumpily and he handed her the coffee "Your welcome" he charmed to which she replied "no you are, now you don't have to worry about me killing you for waking me up" and stuck her 

tongue out. "So, I'm Josh" he said ignoring her last statement. "And you are?" he probed. She took a long sip of her coffee, black like she liked it and stronger than she was used to. "I'm Mariah" she put her hand out to shake and he responded likely. "So Mariah, where you from?" he asked obviously uncomfortable with small talk. "California, So Cal, Fullerton area" she kept mumbling until he laughed "what?" she demanded. "nothing" he replied I was just wondering if you were going to give me your exact address and house color along with everything else, miss Google earth." She laughed realizing how idiotic she looked and blushed. Seeing her blush made him look around the room and then look her over, she wasn't shocked to see that he wasn't the least bit embarrassed to see her in nothing but a robe, she had heard once that he was something of a playboy so there was no reason why a homely girl like her would have any effect on him at all when he is used to all the skinny blonds he could have.

"nice place" he said before taking a swig of his coffee "I stayed in this room once with a girl, what was her name" he trailed off tilting his head to the left trying to remember the one of many one night stands. She grimaced and got up "where are you going?" he asked. "You just convinced me that I should be wearing clothes in here." "Your naked?" he sounded surprised and he got a twinkle in his eyes and she rolled hers before retreating to the bathroom to shower and dress, taking care to lock the door behind her. While she showered he lay on her bed and watched some television, waiting for her to come out. Just as he was getting bored he heard the water shut off. "Mind if I smoke?" he hollered at her. "naw, just open the window first". she finished dressing and came out in her hip hugging jeans and her boots with an Iron Maiden t-shirt then sat down and drank her coffee. josh turned from the window and smiled looking at her "you really are from California arnt you. your gonna freeze your ass off up here wearing that stuff" she blushed "yeah i know" they were quiet for a moment then josh took a drag on his cigarette after which he spoke "So my dad sent me over because he was talking to John and Andy about you and that guy you were talking to, Stanley. Hes dangerous" josh caught her not making eye contact "Mariah! seriously" she sat there quietly for a moment. being new here she didnt know anything or anyone, the show had made her decide this was the place to escape to. all she knew was how the guys were portrayed on the show and now, none of them even knowing her yet, they were already watching out for her, people didnt do this in california, she didnt know how to react. "what is he like then?" she asked meekly looking up at josh from her perch on her side of the bed. Josh sat on the edge of the bed once again and lay back, sprawled from the foot to the middle of the bed, his arms stretched out one lying comfortably on her lap "he went out with this one girl that used to work in the Elbow Room and one night he was drunk and went to her place to talk to her. he asked her to marry him and she was creped out since they had not gone out long. well that girl refused him and he shot her twice in the arm. he got fired off of the _Golden Crest_ after that and was black balled so he couldnt get work on any of the ships." mariah put her hand to her lips and spilled her now cold coffee when she jumped "but he said he was a green hand out here." she was upset that he had lied to her. josh tried to hold back a laugh but couldnt stand it so he let it out, a cigarette still hanging from his mouth "greenhorn stupid" he said and she smiled "yeah i forgot greenhorn, green hand is in th FFA" she looked down at his hand and traced her finger along his palm. josh looked up at her and she blushed "im probably creping you out arnt i?" "no i was just wondering what you were doing, wierdo" he cocked a grin and flipped over onto his belly so he wouldnt have to strain to look at her. "well?" he prompted "i dont know ive just always had a thing for hands, oh, and scars. to me they are the symbol of the hard working proletariat" she looked down embarrassed by her strange fetish when he suddenly jumped up "well, i got scars" he exclaimed and he pulled up his pant leg to show her one. she laughed and smiled then got up and walked over to the fridge "you want something to drink?" she asked "yeah ill have a bud if you got it. he replied "king of beers" she joked as she handed him one and sat down to open one for herself.

"so where are you working?" asked josh putting the bottle to his lips and she shrugged "i dont, not yet at least. im looking to get a job on one of the boats for red crab and then maybe even opi so i can save up some dough to send home till i can afford to bring my daughter up with me, you know once i get a real place. i cant keep her here in this hotel room its just this one room. you see she is my real kick in the ass to get out of cali and make some money, she cant grow up to be me" she sighed and swigged down the last of her beer "you want to go somewhere josh?" he grinned "yeah its only five, nothing opens until five thirty so where are we going to go?" he said in his smart ass tone "i dont know, im new here remember, your the one who knows where all the places are." she gave a sideways smile and sat crossed legged on the floor "yeah i know where to take you" he got up and pulled her to her feet. as she reached her feet she caught a whiff of him and he smelled marvelously just like the tough man that he was. his was a smell of hard work on a crab boat and even though she had always hated the smell of seafood she knew immediately that she would learn to love this smell, especially if she got a spot on a boat. even though he was nearly a foot taller than her she looked up and saw the mischievous gleam in his eyes "im taking you to meet dad"


	2. so beautiful, so deadly

_we all know that the cornelia is not my character she is co-owned but Phil Harris and neither is the North American she belongs to the Skaar family but El Lobo is as far as i know, mike is my character too  
_

Ok yeah so I know I had a few mistakes in the second chapter "surprise visitor" I said "it was the sun that woke her, or was it a knock at her door" then said it was three in the morning I know that dosnt make sense please forgive me

Ok yeah so just wanted to clarify that that was a mistake, im not a total idiot

Thanks for your guy's support and reviews

now back to the story ha

-isis

"chapter 3": so beautiful

a chill came over her as they stepped out of the hotel room and she locked the door. "here take this" josh said unzipping his jacket "no thanks" she waved it off "its my fault that i dressed like a Californian, i have to pay for it but thanks anyway" she put her key in her pocket and he threw the jacket over her shoulders "just take it, dad will kill me if i let you freeze to death" he smiled and started walking so she couldn't give it back "uh thanks josh" she said putting her arms through it and smiling, catching his scent again _mariah dont fall for this guy, you cant, your here for a job and nothing else. hes like this with everyone and you know that and if you fall for him youll just allow yourself to get hurt again so quit being such a chick about everything_ she thought to herself and became more serious on the inside, staying just as happy outside.

while she was talking to herself she hadnt realized that they had arrived at the _Cornelia_ already and when she did her mouth fell open "shes so beautiful" she said feeling dwarfed my the magnificent vessel. "yeah shes a really great ship, dad owns her, well half of her at least. Cornelia Marie is actually the name of the co-owners wife. dads been running her for the past twenty-one years, except for opie a couple years back when he got real sick" josh shook his head remembering that scary time. "yeah i remember" she said off handedly and blushed when he gave her a look "i watch the show all the time, i was scared when they showed what happened to him in opie '08 they made it seem really bad. was it really?" "yeah it was, he could have died from it like my grandma" josh shrugged it off with a sigh and offered her his hand to help her up to the ship which she accepted, something that she normally wouldn't do but she was so daunted by the massive ship and all of its apparent beauty. "thank you" she called down to him when she had finished climbing on board and he had begun.

"Hey dad, there is some chick coming on board want me to get rid of her?" jake yelled to his father seeing her on board but not seeing his brother coming up behind her and he didn't wait for a response before going over to her "sorry but you cant be on here, no women allowed on this ship, you guys are bad luck on ships" he said without thinking and she looked down "yeah i know the old superstitions no meows or hippity hops either, i was kinda invited here" she looked up uncertain, knowing that she was on another's territory and not wanting to tread to heavily "yeah? by who?" jake's cocky attitude began to show "by me bro" josh said putting his hand on her shoulder "oh hey josh i didnt see you there, whos this?" his attitude totally changed upon seeing his big brother "her name is mariah, and stop being such an ass dude, where is dad?" he lightly punched his little brother in the arm playfully "hes up in the wheelhouse with John and Andy, and Sig, why?" "none of your business" josh said pushing past jake and grabbing a hold of mariah's arm to make her follow. she pulled back, scared by him suddenly grabbing her. memories began to flood her and she began to panic thinking that next he was going to hit her, all the others had. "hey, you ok?" josh asked, not realizing what he had just done, not knowing anything about her past "c'mon lets go see dad, he would like to meet you i swear, don't listen to anything that dense over there says" josh coos to her thinking that his brother had offended her. she followed him, scared of what might happen if she didnt listen to him but he was disturbed by the blank look in her eyes "seriously mariah are you ok" he asked placing his hands on both of her arms and making her freak out even more. her eyes shot open wide and she blocked her face, waiting for the inevitable strike she thought was about to be let loose. josh then realized that it was him making her react like this "hey mariah, im sorry i wasnt thinking, i didnt mean to grab at you like that" he cooed some more not knowing what to do. he looked around for help but no one that he thought would be better with girls and able to help right now was near so he just threw his arms around her and held her, uncomfortable holding a girl for the first time since highschool. he felt bad but he hadnt known that she would react so badly to something that seemed as small to him as being grabbed to be guided.

"take that stuff off the boat josh" phil called over the hailer looking up from his conversation with the other captains and seeing his son holding a female out o the deck and assuming that he was trying to get into yet another girls pants. josh looked up "jake could you watch her i think something wrong i have to go talk to dad, be nice ok i think i scared her" he said to his brother and ran to go talk to his dad. "stupid kid cant keep it in his pants" phil mumbled turning back to his buddies and John laughed, "hes gonna get one of them pregnant one of these days, its happened to all of us that were like him when we were young" and shook his head as josh burst into the wheelhouse "dad i need to talk to you" "about what, cant you see im having a conversation up here" phil waved gesturing to the other captains "remember that girl that you had me go talk some sense into, thats her down there" josh looked worried as he saw jake trying to get her to come out of her stupor "your already trying to get her josh, my god you just met her" "no dad im not, i brought her here to meet you but she freaked out when i grabbed her arm to lead her away from jake who was being a jerk, she looks really scared and wont move, except away from me. what should i do dad, i tried to comfort her but holding her didnt help any, i think it made it worse" phil shook his head and was about to get up when John got up and said "no you sit ill see if i cant get her up here" and walked out to go greet her.

she saw John walking toward her but she still couldn't move and he immediately knew what was wrong and held her "hey, your ok, no one is going to hurt you, i wont let them. that josh is a real nice boy you dont have to be afraid of him he was just trying to steer you away from his brother. listen to me ok, you are fine. will you follow me?" he said when she finally relaxed in his grasp and leaned against him a little. when he saw her nod he began to walk toward the galley, one arm around her comfortingly and talking softly to her. phil was waiting in the galley for them looking stressed out as usual. "hey you ok?" he asked her as she began to wake from her revere. she nodded her head and looked down at her lap finally aware that john had sat her down at the table and still had his arm around her "i am sorry about that, i shouldn't have reacted that way josh has been so nice to me this morning" she didnt look up once "im mariah"

"chapter 4": so deadly

they all introduced themselves to her and eventually all but josh forgot about how she had freaked out, finally mariah looked up and saw that the clock on the wall said that it was six twenty-four in the morning. "thank you all it was nice meeting you but i have to go, i have to find a job today or i might as well go back home" she got up but phil blocked her way a little bit. "what kind of job are you looking for?" he asked thinking that maybe he could use his connections to get her a job at one of the local stores or bars here or on one of the other islands "im looking for a job on a ship for red crab season and maybe even opie hopefully, thats actually why i flew up here and left my daughter behind with my parents. im eventually hoping to become a teacher i just need to put myself through school first." she said looking out the galley window at the sea.

_i would like to please hold a moment of silence in the fleet, we have just lost the fishing vessel El Lobo and her entire crew. El Lobo was trying to enter harbor when they sprung a leak and sank. they sank so fast that by the time rescuers arrived all six men had perished without their survival suites and the vessel was completely submerged. a crew will be working to move the sunken ship and it will be out of the harbor entrance well before the season starts. thank you for your time and the moment of silence will begin now _said a voice over the CB

after a few moments of silence sig looked at the young girl "after hearing _that_" sig jabbed his finger in the direction of the CB "an aspiring school teacher wants to go crab fishing? he looked astonished "yeah, i need a challenge in live and it was either the marines or this. im tired of being a nobody in california, im tired of everyone in california, i have to get my daughter out of there" mariah looked around "and this is the best place to be, you dont see whales or bald eagles down there, but here there is real life not plastic life" sig shook his head and john smiles and looked at andy, when their eyes met andy shook his head "oh no, no John" "why not?" john asked the co-owner of the Time Bandit "because we cant" was all that Andy could muster "yeah we can remember that replacement that we had thought we got for Shea after he got canned, well he quit last opie i know that you remember that, he nearly blew up and we still havnt found a replacement yet. c'mon andy king crab season starts in just a month we could use all the help we can get, you know how scotty is he may be my son and i love him to death but he is finicky who knows if he will pull his weight while we are loading up, hes great out at sea but while we are here he is so distracted thinking about sawyer."

andy shook his head, tired of his brothers monologue "i can cook" offered up mariah "tell me what you boys like and i can learn to cook it, and i bake really great cakes" she looked hopefully at Andy "we will have to talk to neal about this, no decision is made unless its by the three of us" andy sighed and looked at mariah. "neal will love you, he loves cake" "welcome to the Time Bandit" John whispered in her ear and she smiled. "now how about that food and cake" he laughed "chocolate cake sound good? and how about a ham dinner?" she smiled big knowing that her Nanas secret ham recipe would surly win them over. "Northwestern will take a table too" sig smiled as he weaseled his way into a free meal for him and his crew and looked at Phil who laughed "Cornelia too" mariah laughed and started making a list of things she would need, she knew to expect more of the ships to show up as well, word gets out quick so she knew she would have to get everything ready fast to start cooking the meal. "ok guys i have to go get the stuff to start dinner, the ham takes a long time to cook, which place has the biggest ovens?" she asked trying to think of where she was going to cook all of the food "the elbow room" they all chimed in already tasting the succulent ham and moist cake "ill go with you" josh said, she hadn't even noticed that he was in the room but she could tell that he felt bad. Phil gave him a disapproving looks thinking that josh should give her some space, he hadnt told him to scare the poor girl to death after all "yeah i would like that" she smiled sweetly and turned to leave, forgetting his jacket that the guys had taken off when they had brought her in since it was so warm in the galley already from all of them stuffed into one area. "hey you forgot this" josh grabbed it and trotted out after her. when they got onto the dock of the ship she leaned a little closer to put the jacket over her shoulders again "hey, mariah, im really sorry about what happened back there, i dont know what i did but im sorry." he looked down at the deck looking sullen. "josh" she started hesitantly "it wasn't your fault, really, its just , my past" she paused and took a breath "and stuff that happened in it, a few guys i used to go with hit me is all, i really shouldnt freak out like that but when i get scared i kinda clam up like that, you should have seen me on the flight up here. i swear when i flew up to Seattle after my grandpa arts funeral i promised myself that i wouldnt fly ever again, but i did to come here and i was just like that the entire flight." she stopped and looked at him "it really wasnt your fault, ok just forget about it we have had a great day so far, lets continue to have one" she smiled and couldnt help the urge to hug him "oh and thanks again for the jacket" he sighed with relief and they kept walking, talking all the way to the local grocery.

"whats the pop for?" he asked as she began to pull down liter after liter of soda from a shelf and she smiled "its for me to know and you to find out" and stuck her tongue at him

a half hour and a very large grocery bill later they walked out and josh was amazed what this girl could carry on her own, he had insisted on carrying more but she had once again been too stubborn and said "im getting a job on a crab boat, if i cant haul a couple of hams a few feet to the hotel what good will i be on board?" and she kept right on walking as if she had no problem with the weight of the food. "hey after we stuff this into your hotel want to grab something to eat, im starving?" josh asked as they reached her door. "sure that sounds great" she said, feeling her stomach rumbling too "want to go to the elbow room, so i can also ask if i can borrow their kitchen for tonight?" josh laughed "sig's probably already asked for you, he wouldnt pass up a free meal any day" "yeah i could kind of tell, you think we have enough food here? i know that more than just the three ships will show up" she smiled "when the dinner bell rings they will all come running" after they had finished stuffing her counters with everything, leaving the ham out to thaw, she grabbed her hat and they went to head over to the bar. "why did they hit you?" josh asked suddenly, he had done some messed up stuff in his time but it sounded like she had had it bad. she shrugged, not wanting to talk about it "no reason really, just little boys thinking that they are bad. thats life though. everyone is there to push you down and lift themselves up in the process. i dont really want to talk about it though, my past is my past, its not me even thought it shaped who i have become. i dont regret anything but i will not repeat any of it. my whole mind is now taken up thinking of how i, a single mother, can enrich me daughters life and make sure that she dosnt make the mistakes i have and turn out to be me. i wouldnt be able to handle that if she had to go through anything that i have, like i told John and Andy last night, men are a cruel creature and i found that out the hard way in life." she looked up, hearing a bird fly by and saw that it was a Bald Eagle "wow" her jaw dropped open and she smiled at the beauty of it.

surprisingly the bar hadnt been filled with smoke yet and there were only a few fishermen enjoying a beverage. they sat at a table and waited for someone to come by so that they could get some food "hi josh, whos this" said the waitress/bartender when she walked to to greet them, hitting him playfully on the arm "this is my friend mariah, she just got hired on the Time Bandit, shes new up here" josh said ignoring the looks that she was giving him "im not on it yet it just looks really good for me so far" she blushed "no, neal will love you you in" josh stated flatly and then ordered for the both of them "oh did you guys hear what happened out at the water?" "yeah the _Lobo_ sank" said mariah and the waitress shook her head "no that was in the wee hours of the morning, this happened about half an hour ago. Mike the _North American_ greenhorn fell into the water, he hit the dock on his way down and was dead before he even got wet, poor Davin is having a hard time because of how the same thing happened to his brother a few years back." the waitress left and they stared at each other.

yeah i know horrible of me to kill people off i know, i feel bad but that is life out there. i didnt have the heart to kill anyone real off so i just made some stuff up as you can tell.

i spent last night watching DC re-runs, is anyone else sad that the season is over. i cant stand being DC-les but hey thank the gods for DVRs

please review i would love to know how i did on this one

peace

-isis


	3. accepted and a greenhorns induction

_Dis__claimer: i cant come up with a better disclaimer than ashleycook234's in hate of brothers so i wont even try (kudos to you ashley everyone go read hate of brothers its cool, there is a wolf in it) so i myself will say it (if only i could record mikes voice and top ashley by him actually saying it) i do not own any characters but the following: mariah, stanley, mike, the __Golden Crest, the __El Lobo so far_

_AN: i had great fun writing the last two chapters, dark i know but dont worry the whole story wont be like that just twisty and turny like mr toads wild ride haha. thank you again for the reviews and i hope i am keeping yall intrested, let me know ok i respect the personal lives of all of these men but for the purposes of good reading i am substituting their reality for my own so i will creat drama in their lives and even take out whole chapters/people_

"Chapter 5:" Accepted, or so she thought

dinner was finally ready and she wanted it to be great, after all it had been a hard day for all of them after the sinking of the _El Lobo_ and the death of the greenhorn from the _North American_. sig had personally known all seven men that had perished that day, they were all from Seattle, he had even helped mike get that job on the Skaar brother's ship. "what do you need me to help with?" asked josh when he walked in. he had been back at the _Cornelia _helping with maritime maintenance and was now returning because he knew how important this was to her. "nothing really, unless you want to ice the cakes for me so i could set the tables" she smiled and wiped chocolate icing onto her apron. "wow it looks like thanksgiving at a soup kitchen in here" josh laughes as he looked around "yeah it feels like one too" she said then tweaked his nose and threw the apron on him "how do i look, as dorky as you do?" he joked, posing as if for a picture. "na, you could never look as dorky as i do, except for maybe those ears, you could beat both my brother and grandpa put together." she smiled _seriously mariah, dont fall for him_ she thought to herself as she walked through the door and into the bar room.

she had set the room up a little differently and josh had hit the design right on the nose, she set it up like one huge thanksgiving dinner to get all of the men together and the anal side of her even set out place cards for each of the ships telling the crews where to sit. she looked around and smiled, proud that she had been able to pull this one off with only josh's help and the goodwill of the _Elbow Room_ owners allowing her to commender their bar. "hello cali girl, what you cookin up for us tonight?" andy asked as he walked in with John and Neal in tow. "its a surprise, youll love it" she gave a sideways smile "have you come in here to tell me ny good news?" she fished "only the dinner bell will tell" Neal said, smiling "ok all done" josh said as he walked back out then stopped short when he saw the other men seeing him in a bright red apron. he quickly ripped it off and threw it at mariah "heads up newbe" he said playing it off. she just laughed and caught it and put it back on. "well then here comes the dinner bell" she said as she walked out and stood in front of the door to yell "dinners ready boys, get it while its hot" loud enough to be heard half way to the docks, knowing that word of mouth would carry it the rest of the way "you guys sit here" she lead the hillstrands to their seats and said "that seat is mine" as she pointed to a seat with her name, conveniently between her new captain and her new best friend josh as the harris clan and company were seated right next to the hillstrands and company.

--

dinner went smoothly with only one fight that she had to break up between Sten Skaar and Eric Nyhammer. her breaking up that fight impressed the hillstrands, as she was a full foot and a half shorter than Eric and about half a foot shorter than Sten. everyone fell in love with her Nana's recipe and her cake. Russ and Eddie welcomed her with open arms, literally and immediately showed her the hospitality due to the newest bandita on board and scotty sat there, drinking, just drinking. she didnt know but him and his young wife were having hard times now that he was back on the boat their marriage was close to over. "ok boys its getting late, i have to have this place cleaned and ready for business again tomorrow or the wonderful owners of this fine establishment will have my ass on a stick" she smiled" thank yall for coming i had a great time."

as everyone finished up their drinks and made their way out the door, to their perspective sleeping places the time bandit guys and josh harris stayed late, helping clean up. "welcome to the family, mariah" neal smiled as he exclaimed and john patted her on the back, he hadnt thought that she would be able to pull all this off. "what do you need me to do now?" josh asked. "oh josh, you have helped so much i really couldnt ask you to do any more." josh smiled and responded "thats why i am asking you" she gave him a hug "thank you so much josh, ummif you want to help the guys put the tables back together the way that they were that would be great." while josh and mariah talked john looked around for his son but scott was no where to be found, john just shrugged and continued to pick up the settings to be hauled back into the kitchen where the newest greenhorn of the fleet would have a great time washing them. chuckling to himself john carried a stack into the kitchen and set them on a counter top. soon everything was cleaned up and josh was having one last beer while mariah swept, the dishes were washed and dried, the tables were reset, the entire place was dusted (a measure that she knew that she didnt have to take but she did anyway), and the only thing left to do was to lock up and take out the trash, josh elected to do the later of tasks while she did the first.

"did you have an ok time?" she asked josh hesitantly while he walked her back to the hotel. "yeah i had a great time, i was so surprised that you had all the guys in one room together and only had one fight though, you did a wonderful job mariah" she smiled and as they reached her door "you want to come in?" she asked to tell the truth she had actually had a little too much to drink, she wasnt drunk but the beer and whiskey had made her bold. "yeah sure, only for a little while though, i have to get back to the boat eventually." "so you mean i cant kidnap you?" she pouted and he laughed again, she had a way of making him laugh often "no you cant, dad would kill you." he paused "well on the other hand he would probably thank you, maybe even pay you to keep me" she laughed again, and that little snort sneaked its way through to embarrass her once more. josh just smiled and sat down, turning on the television and flipping through the channels while she changed into her pjs. "anything on?" she asked "na" then he laughed "hey want to watch _deadliest catch_?" he said as his face came onto the screen it was an old episode from the '08 opie season, when his dad had gotten really sick. his brother had just slapped him and he saw him self say _hey look an eagle_ and slap his brother back, hitting him in the eye on accident. he remembered when that shot was taken, it was the night before the hurricane threw phil into the nightstand. josh smiled thinking of the recovery that his dad had made, those doctors said that he would never fish again but no that wasnt good enough for captain phil harris, to escape with his life, no he had to prove all of the doctors and specialists wrong and return to fish another day. at some point during the show he put his arm around her shoulders and that was when her defenses failed her and she fell for him. "josh?" she said timidly and he turned, smiling, toward her "whats up?" eh asked as she reached out to touch his chin then pressed her lips against his, after a moment of letting himself be taken into the kiss he suddenly pulled away and removed his arm from her shoulders. "whats wrong?" she asked "i cant do this" he said, getting up "you have a daughter, a relationship with you would mean taking on the responsibility of a child, im still young, im not ready for a family, i can barely handle the boat and my few tasks there." she turned her head, blocking from his sight a single tear that had rolled down her cheek. "we can be friends mariah, but i cant go any further that that, i should go" she nodded and showed him to the door. when he walked out she went to shut it but then suddenly called out his name "josh" he turned "you forgot this" she said taking off his jacket that smelled so much like him, he took it from her and she shut the door and cried, not knowing that as soon as josh got back to the ship he would tell his little brother exactly what had happened.

"chapter 6": a greenhorns induction

"c'mon guys get those pots secured" john barked over the loud hailer as scotty was daydreaming at the hydros again.

andy was begining to show mariah the ins and outs of bait prepping. "ok so how much do i make at a time?" she asked "twice as many as are in the string, maybe a one or two more" he called, walking away toward the hydros to take over. she put the bait into the grinder, smiling at her good fortune of getting this job so easily two months ago. in the meantime she had put in alot of hours cooking at the elbow room after they saw how well she cooked. it was just two hours until the red king crab season officially opened and john had wanted to get a head start but due to a badly timed phone call to his now estranged wife by scott their departure was set back by an argument filled hour and now john was in a crabby mood, not about to let anything slip by.

--

up in the wheel house john lit another cigarette and shook his head, at least his new greenhorn seemed to be adjusting well, for a woman. that was more than he could say for his own son. that boy had to get his head out of the clouds and back onto the deck. "hurry uit up down there we're late" he yelled into the loud hailer. _damnit sigs already got a head on us._ he said to himself "so hows your horn holding up?" came phil's voice over the CB. john really wasnt in the mood to answer his radio, even for his best friend but he did anyway. "shes doing great, better than my own son" he sighed "hey john did ya ever hear about what happened between your horn and my son josh?"phil could barely say through his laughter "no, what?" john asked, confused. phil went on to tell john the whole story. or at least the story according to his son, jake.

--

andy looked up at the wheel housr at his two brothers with a mischevious look in his eyes any they both nodded. they had been out at sea for about a day and a half and had just finished setting their first string. mairha stood there finishing up the bait for the next forty pot string when she was grabbed from behind. she froze up until she heard andy's voice laugh and tell her to relax. she was blindfolded and she felt herself be lifted onto someones shoulder. she fought the panic that threatened to rise up in her chest and opened her hearing, taking in every sound, trying to figure out what they were about to do for her greenhorn hazing. "hurry up" laughed andy "im trying" laughed russ as she finished tying the rope off. a moment later she was rising in the air then suddenly she felt herself in a mechanically controlled fall, the blindfold ripped off last minute and she was just inches away from the open and emptycrab tank. she had enough sense to take a deep breath well before hitting the water and she held it tight. it seemed like forever that she was submerged when she finally heard johns voice boom laughingly over the loudhailer. "ok pull her up guys" and she felt herself be gently pulled from the water, her soaked hair cascading around her. while neal watched the wheel john came down with a towel in hand. "enjoy your bath?" he smiled, handing the towel out for her and yanking it back when she reached for it. she laughed, her teeth chattering with the cold and he finally surrendered it, wrapping it around her shoulders. "john, show her the sauna so she can get warm whilerun to the next drop point" john nodded and led her into the gear room "get your wet clothes off and youll be warmer" he said "are you gonna stand there and watch me?" she accused, raising an eyebrow "oh, sorry" he turned and shook his head at himself as he walked into the galley to get her a cup of coffee.

after taking off her wet clothes and hanging them she wrapped the towel around her again to cover up, looking down she saw john's initials and smiled, he had given her his own towel to borrow. mariah followed him into the warm galley and reached for a mug. "im getting you one" john stopped her when he saw. "how do you like it?" she smiled again "black, no sugar, thank you cap'n" she replied with a smile as he handed her the hot beverage and with the first sip she was warmed up. "did you bring your suit?" he asked, refering to the sauna and she shook her head "i didnt think that i would need one in alaska" she felt his eyes on her as she took another sip and looked up from her coffee, seeing a coltish grin light up his eyes she smiled. "what" he shook his head to clear it "wh-oh nothing. just day dreaming" she finished off her coffee and got up to go wash it but he was faster "ill get it" he said taking the cup, which she allowed thought she usually didnt like men to don things for her, he was the captain after all. _were almost there_ came neal's voice over the intercom and mariah got up "i better get some fresh clothes on and get back out there" as she turned to leave she noticed a look of disappointment in his eyes and turned to face him again. "you ok?" she asked "yeah im just thinking about the boat" this was partially true, half his mind was on his son scott, worrying if he would get his ass into gear, after all out of the three brothers andy was the only one still married. the other half of his mind was on his new greenhorn. she had more to her than she let on all at once and his curiosity was piqued.

--

back out on deck she slid agily into the fifth pot of the string to hang the bait "hurry your ass up greenhorn" scotty yelled grumpily and as she slid back out she shot an angry look and began to walk toward him" im fucking doing the best i can scott" she yelled back at him, challenging him having a greenhorn, a female no less talk back to him began to make him boil over and his eyes showed his barely contained anger and he took a step forward, accepting her challenge. if she wanted to be on a mens ship and work like a man then he was damn well ready to treat her like a man and throw down. andy saw this and yelled "scotty come over here a second" and knowing better than to ignore a senior deck hand he walked up to his uncle. "lay off the horn or go inside to cool down, thats the only warning that you are getting." he also knew better than to talk back to the co-captain, that was more than the horn knew. getting back to work andy shook his head, yeah a girl on board might be different and loads of fun but they were just plain bad luck.

--

john looked down on his deck with his brother neal by his side "what are you looking at?" asked neal, noticing his older brothers eyes straying to the bait area "nothing" stated john flatly "just day dreaming again" and he scanned the seas gageing the on coming waves and noticing them getting bigger. "ok boys, finish up this string and secure the deck then come in" he called over the loud hailer "oh and girl" he added with a chuckle. mariah rolled her eyes at the last part and slid in and out of the last pot. for the past sixteen hours she had put up with scotts constant unwarranted harassment and was more than happy to get cleaned up and relax by cooking the boys a nice hot meal before their short nap.

A/N: ok so please dont anyone get mad at me, i love all of the hillstrands but i had to have an antagonist for this chapter, please forgive me


	4. last offload

_so sorry that this updat took so long, lots going on in rl_

_same disclaimer as always i own nothing other what what i have state so far, ill let you know about anything else if it comes up_

_A/N: when you see a -- it is a change in POV or scene change  
_

"CHAPTER 7": THE LAST OFFLOAD

"great job gusy" andy called over the loud hailer "secure the deck and get inside we are heding back to dutch to offload" the entire crew hollered and cheered in relief, john even came out onto the deck and joined them. as soon as everything was secured mariah went in and started to fix a quick meal of pasta and chicken as the boys slept, but only three were asleep. hearing a noise she pulled her headphones out of her ears, not wanting to be noisy but wondering if everything were alright.

"...your head has been up in the clouds since before we even left dutch, what do you expect us to do? you are going to get someone hurt, or worse." john yelled at his son. "i had a family dad, but still i came out here, this is want you wanted for me, to come out here and help you guys and now she left me and she took sawyer with her, what am i supposed to do, i dont even know how he is right now." Scott countered "you've never been committed to this ship. you have been off and on whenever you and your pocketbook want" "i told you once dad, im trying to be the dad that you wernt, im trying to be in my sons life not always away in the middle of the fucking bering sea." john sighed and neal and andy stood there, backing their brother.

mariah put her headphones back in when she heard the wheelhouse door open. scott glared at her wit open disgust as he walked up and ripped the headphones out of her ear "are you happy now? are you? i got fired because of my dad's little crush on you, _greenhorn_" he spat out then stalked off, not noticing his dad in the wheelhouse doorway. "mariah" john said softly seeing her rigid in fear, she jumped when he put his hand on her shoulder . "im so sorry" he cooed in her ear and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. they were silent while she began to relax again. "is it true cap'n?" he knew what she was referring to and was quiet while he thought of how best to handle this. "yes" was all that he could say. they stood like that, over the stove, for a few fleeting moments "you should go get some rest, dinner will be ready soon, and someone might see us" she said, turning her head to the side to look at him as she spoke. he nodded and turned fluidly walking to his stateroom.

--

as john undressed he felt himself grow sad. his one wish had always been for scott to take over the _Bandit_ some day and now that wish was crushed into the dirt. he didnt know why he felt the way that he did for his very young greenhorn, she wasnt like his usual type at all. her well hidden insecurities must have been what had drawn him in and that wasnt like him at all either. now getting what he wanted was taking away the one thing that he really needed, his chance to be a father again. it wasnt entirely mariah's fault, he knew that she had no idea what she was causing up until now. he shouldnt have brought a woman on board, they were bad luck. he didnt know weather to be happy or upset so he jsut lay down and closed his eyes.

--

a knock at the door. "come in" he said groggily "arnt you going to join us for supper john?" mariah said softly, as she entered "yeah, i am. come here a minnet" he waved his hand and she listened to her captain. sitting at the foot of his bed "are you ok john?" she asked and he nodded his head sleepily. "why dont you get some food then come and take a nap, we still have a while before we reach dutch" he nodded his head, not really listening and put out his hand for her to take. when she did he pulled her down next to him and wrapped his arms around her. she giggeled at how affectionet he was being already, up to this point she wasnt sure if they were really an item or if he had just confessed how he fdelt about her. "john, someone will notice andy sent me to come and get you when you didnt shoe up to dinner." he just squeezed ehr tighter "do you care who notices?" he shot back playfully and she relaxed against him. she thought for a moment and shok her head "not if you dont"

--

"uncle andy, whre is my dad?" asked scott "last i heard he was sleeping, why?" "oh nuthin i just wanted to smooth things over with him before i leave" scott repliued "yer leafin?" asked a shocked Russ through a mouth full of food. scott reached for some fettachini "yeah, i got booted, so im going home to see if my family will take me back" russ swallowed and waited for further explination but when he didnt get any he just continued to eat "whre is mariah?" asked eddie suddenly and scott looked aroun, noticing for the first time that the greenhorn wasnt in the room, anger rose in him again. andy's eyes widened, realizing where she must be as scott rose to find his dad andy followed to make sure that things didnt get out of hand.

--

what made you decide that you wnated to come on up here and fish?" john asked mariah "you really want to know?" she asked back, feeling foolish. he nodded his head "the show" she said meekly and she felty his chesty laugh rumble through him like a low growl. "what do you think you are doing?" yelled scotty, throwing open the door to john's stateroom "dad she is barily leagal" much to mariah's dismay the head cameraman, cameron glendening was behind him. "nothing happened" she ye;lled as she shot up and stood shocked, a move that would make things worse when the show aired. josh shot up and yelled "you are out of line scott" and looked to the offending cameraman "get your ass out of here" glendening stood there shocked, john rarely talked to him like that. "he didnt call me over john, i swear, i just came on my own while i was filming dinner" he said before retreating, hoping to have helped scotty by saying this.

as glendening trotted away to continue filming dinner john stared daggers at his son who countered with an icy glare of his own "where do you get off being with a little girl, younger than you own daughter? her daughter is barely younger than sawyer" the hurt and betrayal in scotts eyes showed through and mariah fought back the urge to move forward and speak, knowing it would only make things worse so instead she just looked to john for guidance. his eyes said that she should go so she did, sliding agily past scotty and cameron, feeling scotty's glare fall upon her as she retreated to the galley where everyone sat shocked. andy followed, not speaking.he couldnt find the words.

she tried to eat, she had been hungry up until the confrontation. "you should eat" russ said gentally, pushing her a plate and pouring her some juice but she felt to bad to eat. two months ago she had fallen for her friend josh and had been harshly rejected, slowly she had gotten over that and now she had found a relationship with john but that relationship was ruining johns with his son. coming out here she had thought taht she had left behind the high school drama but now she wasnt so sure.

--

that night as the majority of the crew slept mariah crept up to the wheel house where neal was on wheel watch "neal do you mind if i make a call home?" she asked feebly and he shook his head, handing her the phone. she dialed and a moment later her moms voice appeared on the other end "hi mom" she said and her moms tired voice answered "hi rye, what time is it?" "oh its one, im sorry i didnt realize the time, ill make this quick. how is sophi?" "its ok rye i know you dont have much time other than this, she is doing great, she misses you though, we all do" mariah was silent thinking of her daughter "are you back in port?" her mom asked adn mariah shook her head as if somehow despite the distance her mom would feel the motion and see her "no, were heading there though, hey i got to go neal wants to talk, ill call you as soon as i can before we leave again, love you and everyone else"

she hung up the phone and looked at neal. "do you love him?" he asked the young woman, referring to his eldest brother john hillstrand. she shook her head "not yet, when i first started watching the show i had a mad crush on him though. "neal raised an eyebrow "not yet?" "no, i like him alot and i know myself, ill love him before long" she waited for a responce quietly but he just watched the waves "women on board are bad luck" he said finally "there is a way to counter that though" she said smiling then her smile faded "but i dont think that it would help in this case, just make things worse" neal nodded knowing the old superstition. "the funny thing is, if he were a few years older it would almost be like cleopatra and ceaser. i shouldnt be with him, should i?" she looked at neal knowing that he wouldnt hide what he felt and would say it as it is "no" was all he said and she nodded and started to walk out of the wheelhouse. "but he loves you" he called out after her, not sure that she had heard.

she sat in the galley silently sipping her coffee mulling over everything that had happened up until now when glendenning walked in yawning. he didnt notice her at first and grabbed the orange juice from the fridge, just as he raised the jug to his mouth to take a drink "i know your gonna get a cup, right?" she said quietly, almost liek a phantom whisper, making him jump and spill the juice all over his front. "what are you doing up?" he asked slyly, sitting down and reaching for his camera beneath the table and turning it on "im just thinking about things" she shook her head, clearly troubled. he had ment to secretly record their conversation, she wouldnt have known till the show aired anyway. his heart took over and he shut the camera off "what is it?" he prompted "nuthin that concerns you" she shot at him, remembering earlier how he coldly stood there, documenting the confrontation between the hillstrand father and son. he jumped back in his seat a little at the ferocity of her bite as if he felt she would strike out with her fangs. "sorry i asked" he growled getting up and reaching for the jug again, mockingly reaching for a glass "ya happy?" he shot back, a unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. john had heard the commotion and woken up instinctualy out of his sleep to see what was wrong with his woman. "everything alright in here?" he growled, looking softly in her direction. mariah just looked at the other man then smiled at john "yes, every thing's fine, i was just telling his to use a glass" john reached for her hand and whispered in her ear "want to come to bed?" to which she nodded and followed his lead back to the stateroom.

--

"honey, i brought you some grub" she said to john as she climbed the wheelhouse stairs and placed the plate on an empty spot near him. "i gotta go finish fixing up the boys meals" she turned to leave but he gentaly grabbed her upper arm "not so fast ma'am, where do you think your going? i havnt had a chance to say good morning" he pulled her softly over to himself and wrapped his arms around her, smelling her hair and smiling, loving his scent lingering all over his woman. after a moment he released her and watched her walk back down the stairs to care for his crew. no one had been up when he had come up to relieve neal of the wheel. she had slept so beautifully that he couldnt bring himself to wake her so he had just dressed and slipped out. "this is the fishing vessel Time Bandit to harbor master, do you copy?" he called as they neared the harbor. "Time Bandit this is Harbor master, over" "im requesting permission to enter the harbor and dock, over" "permission granted, see you soon bandit" as he started in toward the harbor he hollered "babe, c'mon up here a minnet" she followed his voice "yes captain?" "could you wake the boys and let em know we are reaching dutch so they have to get on deck to tie her off, then they can have their breakfast, oh and have andy rouse scott and send his up here "he smiled as her head disappeared back down the steps.

--

"yeah dad?" scott said hopefully, thinking maybe he would have a nother chance after all. "than you for coming out here again, ill see you when i get home after the season ends" he looked sadly into his sons eyes knowing that this was scotts last offload and scott turned away, hiding his face and the emotion in his eyes "ill pack up then help tie off" "you arnt going to have breakfast?" "no ill eat in dutch while i wate for the plane" after saying that scott left without even turning around. johns heart broke to see his son and best friend leave.


	5. a long cry from home

"chapter 8": a long cry from home

she smiled as she saw the men off the ship. they were all due back after the catch was weighed and she stayed behind to tidy up and then it was off to the grocery to stock up for the next run out. it seemed so quickly that the hungry, hard working boys ate through the stock. when she went out to collect the trash from the wheel house she saw that john was still there. "you ok honey?" she came up slowly and softly behind him, wrapping her arms around him, her chin rested gentally on his shoulder "its just hard to see scotty leave, i failed at my second chance to be a dad to him, again." "ill leave and wait in dutch for your return if you want to bring him back, so not to make him uncomfortable, if you would like?" he shook his head and leaned it against hers lovingly, enjoying her scent some more "forget about your chores for now, you can do them while the boys are sleeping off the alcohol, lets head to town so i can show off my new woman" he grinned like a shark, all of his teeth showing through. "and who might this new woman be?" she said playfully helping him to his feet "only the most beautiful one in all of unalaska" he said before kissing her forehead she gasped "you lie johnathan hillstrand, you lie like a dead dog" she slapped his chest and laughed "no i dont you just dont give yourself enough credit. you are a great asset to me, to this ship. you do realize that? the men, most twice your age, respect you like a mother and a sister both, and me, i love you with everything you deserve" she smiled falling for him all the more "now come on to dutch or i will drag you kicking and screaming" he said "ok, your word is law captain" she winked and he jumped up, throwing her over his shoulder "hey listen up here, you brute, i said id come quietly" she yelled, playfully beating him on the back making him laugh as he proceeded to carry her off of the ship.

"oh hi josh, phil" he nodded putting down his prize and keeping his arm around her waist marking her as his. phil raised his eyebrows and josh looked away not understanding why this sight made him jealous but not liking the feeling at all. "hi captain, hi josh" she beamed at their friends. josh looked in her direction and gave a feeble smile, not meeting her eyes, she looked so happy. "we were just heading to the elbow room, want to join us?" john offered and phil accepted for both him and his second eldest son. the quartet joked and laughed all the way to the bar and john bought them all a round of celebratory duck farts as he proudly flaunted his new woman, introducing her as the woman who had fixed them all supper two months ago. by the time that the bar was about to close josh had drank more than anyone else in the place trying to drown out the jealousy he felt. phil looked at his son worried about him as josh paid his tab and got roughly up "imma go check on jake and that count" then stalked off.

"i dont know whats eating him" phil shook his head. john had drank enough to be feeling quite well by now, his arm around her the whole night. "neather do i. do you want to go back to the ship?" he turned and asked mariah. she shook her head "i have to call home first to check on my daughter" "ok ill see you soon" he kissed her on the lips and paid off both of their tabs before leaving. "ill send josh back up here soon to so you to the _Bandit_ in a few" phil said as he too paid and got ready to leave "thank you phil" she said "hey, tony, can i borrow your phone?" she yelled "yeah its right back here mariah" he answered

--

"sorry its so late we about to head back out in the morning. how is sophia?" mariah asked when her mom answered the phone "she is ok, she has been crying for you all day today, she said that she wouldnt sleep until you got home and just passed out a few hours ago. how is it so far?" mariah was silent, missing her baby girl. "oh...its great mom, i just miss you all so much" "ok, well i have to work in the morning so i have to go, ill talk to you again soon ok?" "ok mom, oh and i have a feeling i might be bringing some company when i get back so you and the rest of the family can meet someone, love you, ill let you go now." she hung up the phone, laughing at the suspense that her mom must feel now when she felt a hand on her shoulders. "how can you be with him when you could be my star, darling?" mariah's eyes widened and she didnt dare to turn around but her eyes searched wildly for tony, she knew he had a bat and rifle to break up fights but he wasnt anywhere to be seen. "get your hands off of her." she heard josh's voice, surprisingly steady and even. stanley removed his hands and turned around slowly "and what do you want harris, you gonna claim her from him for yourself" he mocked "no, but nether are you so move your ass out of my way, you are between me and my friend, a place where you dont want to be" while josh had stanley's attention, pride rose up in mariah, she didnt need a guy to take care of her or protect her even if that guy was her friend. josh had expected her to run for it but instead she kicked his knees in "what the-" she cut him off with a swift kick in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him. "dont you ever touch me or any other woman again, you slimy bastard, got that clear?" she yelled and when he tried to get up she kicked him in the groin and bent down, punching him in the nose before stepping over him and joining josh who stood in stunned silence with his mouth hanging open "c'mon josh ill walk you back to the _cornelia_".

A/N: i know really short chapter but im preparing to wrap up this story and get my sequel typed up ill probably add a teaser for the next story at the end of this story

peace


	6. epilogue a fond farewell to the sea

_A/N: im sad this is the last chapter, im sorry to see my first one go :(_

"chapter 9": epilogue/ a fond farewell to the sea

three weeks later the _bandit_ had reached her quota, as had many of the others in the fleet. their time was growing short and it was showing on the faces of all the bandits but mostly on their captain. john knew that after wantin out of her hometown throught her whole life, her life was now calling her back. she had been so homesick lately for her family, mostly for her young child. she had been making daily calls home and had trouble sleeping lately, she wouldnt talk much about it but he knew that she was scared that her daughter would think that she had abandoned her. when he had told her about his and phil's and his plan to celebrate all of the october birthdays from their ships and the wizard once they all reach dutch she hadnt been too thrilled, her ninteenth birthday wasnt that big of a deal to her, thje only thing that she craved was to hear her daughter call her momma again. even her responces to his advanced lately had taken on a cold edge.

--

"happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you, and mannny mooore" all of the boys sang in their rough voices. they laughed when they saw the crab shaped cake with the numbers of all of their ages covering it. "try not to burn the place down"sig called out, the northwestern had joined them. edgar sighed "of course psyco sig has to take the fun out of everything, do what you want guys happy birthday"

after mariah, jake harris, made their wishes and blew out the candles josh pulled mariah aside. "so do you still think that you will come back for opie season like you had wanted?" he asked her "i dont think i will, after all of this i think i will stay home and finish school and become a teacher. i probably couldnt bear to leave sophia like this again, who knows there might be a life for me down there after all. it will be hard though with my relationship with john but that is noting new is it? when one is a fisherman and the other isnt." she smiled sadly and drank a shot of jack. "you better come visit me joshua harris, you got that?" she waggeled a finger at him, making him but sout laughing. "when does your plane leave?" he asked. "oh in a few hou-" she looked at her cell phone clock "shit a few minets, john is already drunk, do you mind giving me a lift to the airport?" "sure ill go start the truck" josh smiled, glad to be the one she asked. "ok ill be out as soon as i kiss john goodbye"


	7. teaser just couldnt stay away

_A/N- here is the teaser of my sequal that i promised, its just a few words but hopefully it will get you interested _

just couldn't stay away

"chapter 1": another surprise visit

often while she sat at home taking care of her daughter she looked back on her exciting crab season over a year ago longingly. the stresses of everything has left her relationship with john in shambles and they had both decided it was best to end it on a good note and they were big enough people to stay good friends. it turned out that this had been a good call because between then and now john and scotty had started to get along again.

"catch, catch" sophia yelled out and mariah was snapped out of er memories thinking that she was about to get a tennis ball to her head but realized that the episode of man vs wild that they had been watching was over and the first new episode of deadliest catch was about to begin...


End file.
